Perth Indymedia

Though there will be May Day events around the country this weekend, there are few people who would seriously argue they’re not a pale shadow of the past. With only around 15% of workers members of a trade union, and only one in ten in the private sector, the truth is the labour movement in Australia is at a historical ebb. Alex Whisson spoke to Liz Humphrys, political economist at the University of Technology Sydney, and author of the upcoming book, How Labour Built Neoliberalism, to get a better understanding of this sorry state of affairs. Liz began by explaining the historical importance of Bob Hawke’s signature achievement in government, the Prices and Incomes Accord, in the decline and degeneration of the Australian trade union movement.